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CAt  I     I    fti,IA 

SAN  DIEGO 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 

A  POEM 


BY 
LYMAN  WHITNEY  ALLEN 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

NEW    YORK  LONDON 

17  West  Twenty-third  Street  24  Bedford  Street,  Strand 

Ube  ftnfcherbocliev  press 
1896 


COPYRIGHT,  1896 

BY 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 
Entered  at  Stationers'  Hall,  London 


Ube  Knickerbocker  prc*0,  Hew  fiork 


This  book  is  a  revised  edition  of  the  prize  poem, 
"Abraham  Lincoln,"  published  in  The  New  York 
Herald,  December  isth,  1895. 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

INVOCATION   .        ....        .        .        .        3 

THE  HEART  OF  FREEDOM     ....        7 

SHIPS  OF  FATE 9 

A  DREAM  OF  EMPIRE 15 

THE  STAR  OF  SANGAMON  .  .  .  .  21 
THE  PEOPLE'S  KING  ...  .28 

FORT  SUMTER        ....  -35 

COLUMBIA'S  WRATH      .        .        .  .40 

THE  CALL  TO  ARMS  .  »  •  •  >  45 
THE  PEOPLE'S  RESPONSE  ....  49 
THE  GATHERING  OF  THE  LEGIONS  .  .  56 
OUR  VOLUNTEERS.  .  .-'.-.  .  .  58 

THE  PRICE  OF  LIBERTY        ...        .       .63 

v 


VI  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

BULL  RUN 64 

THE  NATION'S  PROPHET       ....      69 
THE  NIGHT  OF  SORROW       .        .        .        .71 

THE  VIGIL 73 

THE  VOICE  OF  DESTINY        .         .         .         -77 
THE  STROKE  OF  JUSTICE  81 

THE  DAWN 83 

THE  APOTHEOSIS 87 

THE  VOICE  OF  MARTYRDOM  93 

THE  PLEDGE  OF  HISTORY    .        .        .        -97 

OUR  SOLDIERS 101 

THE  LAND  OF  PROMISE         .        .        .        .107 


Invocation, 


INVOCATION. 

OF  one  great  Ship  that  sailed  the  sea 
And  weathered  the  infuriate  blast ; 
Of  one  great  Pilot  that  stood  fast 

And  brought  her  into  lee, 


I  sing  ;  and  singing  seek  to  use 

Thy  founts  of  grace,  as  they  of  yore 
Sought  and  found  service  in  thy  store, 

O  immemorial  Muse  ! 
3 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

The  Grecian  Poet,  quaffing  thence 
Castalian  cheer,  song's  classic  lord 
Awoke  the  mythic  centuried  chord 

Of  life's  diviner  sense. 


The  Florentine  with  screened  eyes 
Caught  rich  and  Beatrician  gleam 
Of  Eunoe's  redemptive  stream 

And  beams  of  Paradise. 


The  Seer  of  Horton,  finding  meet 
Thy  rills  beyond  the  hills  of  time, 
Set  primal  sorrow  into  rhyme, 

And  sin  to  music  sweet. 


INVOCATION. 

The  Laureate  of  the  Holy  Grail, 

Deep-drinking,  placed  before  thy  face 
The  Idyll-Epic  of  the  race, 

The  quest's  supreme  avail. 


The  Cambridge  Singer  o'er  the  walls 
Of  custom  clomb,  and  roaming  found, 
On  far  Itascan  storied  ground, 

The  Laughing  Water  Falls ; 


The  twilight  of  primeval  pines, 
The  leafy  homes  of  plumed  quires, 
Mondamin's  green  and  golden  spires, 

And  Hiawatha's  shrines. 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

O  ancient  Muse  forever  young  ! 

Guard  of  the  poets'  mystic  spring  ! 

Touch  heart  and  tongue  that  I  may  sing 
Somewhat  as  they  have  sung, — 


One  simple  strain  of  that  great  song, 
Which  ardent  bards  through  future  years, 
O'er  ever-brightening  hemispheres, 

Shall  rapturously  prolong ; 


Sweet  burthen  since  the  world  began, 

Desire  of  every  century, 

Imperious  Love's  sublime  decree, — 
The  brotherhood  of  man. 


THE  HEART  OF  FREEDOM. 

THE  fragrant  meadows  of  Runnymede 

Grow  greener  with  every  succeeding  year  ; 

The  Ironside  hoofs  of  the  Puritan's  steed 
Still  crowd  on  the  Cavalier. 


The  laurel  blooms  upon  Burial  Hill ; 

The  broken  tablets  are  slabs  of  gold  ; 
And  Plymouth  Rock  in  the  winter's  chill 

With  summer  is  aureoled. 
7 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

The  thunders  of  Concord  and  Lexington 
Roll  on  in  music  that  will  not  die  ; 

And  one  brave  venture  for  Freedom  done 
Immortally  crowns  July. 


White  stars  of  dawn  in  a  sky  of  blue, 
And  bars  of  glory  o'er  land  and  sea, 

Shall  float  the  emblem  all  ages  through 
Of  Union  and  Liberty. 


So  stands  our  hope  with  its  blessings  spread, 

A  magna  charta  inviolate  ; 
The  deathless  soul  of  the  patriot  dead  ; 

The  heart  of  the  living  State. 


SHIPS  OF  FATE. 


Two  paths  apart  on  the  misty  main ; 

Two  eager  prows  toward  the  beaconing  West ; 
O'er  crests  of  courage,  through  troughs  of  pain, 

Of  life  and  of  death  possessed. 


Above  the  one  from  seraphic  wings 

Blew  friendly  winds  'gainst  the  crowded  sails ; 

And  fingers  used  to  celestial  strings 
Held  back  on  the  rushing  gales. 


10  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Below  the  other  a  rising  sweep 

Of  forms  foam-raimented ;  raven  hands 

Forced  fiercely  through  the  resentful  deep 
Swift  woe  unto  western  lands. 


Fair  Mayflower,  breasting  the  wintry  sea ! 

Thou  wert  the  promise  of  wakening  spring ; 
Embosoming  Freedom's  destiny 

And  Liberty's  issuing. 


Dark  Slaver,  touching  Virginia's  shore  ! 

With  captives  laden  from  mast  to  keel ; 
Thou  wert  the  sign  of  the  deepening  sore 

Of  wrong  that  could  only  heal 


SHIPS  OF  FATE.  II 


In  smoke  of  battle  and  streams  of  blood, 
In  orphan  cries  unto  winds  and  waves, 

In  tears  of  precipitate  widowhood 
Bedewing  a  million  graves. 


H  E>ream  of  Empire. 


A  DREAM  OF  EMPIRE. 

A  FRUITFUL  land  'neath  Southern  skies, 
With  verdant  fields  and  blossomed  meads; 

And  o'er  the  seas  increasing  rise 

The  cries  of  Europe's  greatening  needs. 


Wide-stretching  belts  of  meltless  snows 

Through  swarms  of  swarthy  forms  displayed ; 
And  purple  wealth  to  golden  grows 

w 

Along  the  thoroughfares  of  trade. 
15 


l6  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

A  dream  of  empire  such  as  ne'er 
Glowed  on  the  vision  of  the  race ; 

A  bounteous  breadth  of  tropic  sphere, 
A  luminous  ocean-rounded  space, 


From  Hatteras  to  Panama, 

And  summer  shores  of  Mazatlan, 

To  copper  hills  of  Arriba 

Beyond  the  bays  of  Yucatan  ; 


And  on  o'er  Amazonian  plain, 

Past  Pampean  sea  and  jewelled  bourn, 
Through  Incan  trails  and  tracks  of  Spain, 

One  empire  to  the  Southern  Horn. 


A  DREAM   OF  EMPIRE.  17 

An  empire  with  its  gilded  throne 

By  flesh  and  blood  enslaved  wrought ; 

An  empire  with  its  pillared  zone 

Of  states,  whose  founders  nobly  fought 


For  right  and  faith,  but  failed  to  trace, 
The  while  their  life-blood  stained  the  sod, 

Within  the  negro's  ebon  face 
The  image  of  Almighty  God. 


And  later  scions  holding  fast 
Their  legacies  of  sophistry, 

Preferred  the  world's  discordant  past, 
Forsook  the  footsteps  of  the  free, 


1 8  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

To  tread  apart  revulsive  ways, 

Back  from  the  ascending  trend  of  things, 
Back  toward  the  nations'  yesterdays, 

Hand  unto  hand  again  with  kings. 


Ube  Star  of  Sangamon. 


THE  STAR  OF  SANGAMON. 

A  NATION  called  through  the  gloom 

In  one  long  wail  of  despair, 

One  multitudinous  prayer, 

'Neath  portent  of  hastening  doom  ; 

And  myriad  strained  eyes 

Were  lifted  to  lowering  skies. 

But  on  a  sudden  the  night 
Was  shaken  :  a  marvellous  light 
Burst  forth,  an  effulgent  spark 
Against  the  o'erwhelming  dark. 


21 


22  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

It  waxed,  it  whitened,  it  shone 
Aflame  in  the  widening  zone 
Of  dawn  ;  and  a  world  intent 
Read,  scanning  the  firmament, 
God's  covenant  blazed  thereon, 
America's  horoscope, 
The  sign  of  a  Nation's  hope, 
The  Star  of  Sangamon. 


Not  out  of  the  East  but  the  West 
A  Star  and  a  Savior  rose  ; 
A  light  to  an  eager  quest, 
A  spirit  of  grace  possessed, 
Of  faith  'mid  increasing  woes, 
Of  wisdom  manifest. 


THE  STAR  OF  SANGAMON.  23 

And,  forth  from  the  variant  past 
Of  thraldom's  darkness,  at  last 
God's  measureless  love  for  man 
Wrought  through  heredity's  dower 
The  great  American, 
Whose  soul  was  the  perfect  flower 
Of  patriot  planting  in  soil 
Kept  moist  by  blood  and  tears, 
And  fertile  by  faithful  toil 
Throughout  unnumbered  years. 


Nor  accident  nor  chance, 
But  heavenly  ordinance 
Set  his  nativity 
In  ripened  fulness  of  time, 


24  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

For  sake  of  a  race  to  be 

The  pledge  of  a  golden  prime. 

In  lowliest  spot  he  breathed 
His  first  sweet  breath  of  the  earth ; 
And  life's  great  Parent  bequeathed 
Fair  virginal  Nature  from  birth 
To  be  his  tutor  and  friend, 
His  youthful  steps  to  attend. 

She  led  o'er  the  wooded  hills 
And  flowering  prairied  vales, 
Along  by  the  summer's  rills, 
Against  the  winter's  gales, 
Through  sweeps  of  primeval  ills, 
Across  the  Red  Men's  trails. 


THE   STAR   OF  SANGAMON.  2$ 

She  taught  him  the  songs  of  birds, 
The  sympathy-syllabled  words 
Of  water  and  earth  and  air, 
And  pointed  the  winding  stair 
That  leads  to  Heaven,  where  climb 
The  higher  forces  of  time. 

She  bound  him,  that  he  might  feel 
The  weight  of  Oppression's  heel ; 
She  starved  him,  that  he  might  learn 
The  hunger  of  souls  that  yearn ; 
She  bruised  him,  that  he  might  know 
Somewhat  of  the  world's  great  woe. 

She  helmed  him  with  faith  ;  she  placed 
The  girdle  of  strength  at  his  waist ; 


26  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

And  over  his  breast  she  laid 
The  buckler  of  right ;  the  blade 
Of  truth  she  set  in  his  hand 
And  bade  him  unwavering  stand, 
As  Moses  stood  with  his  rod, 
For  Freedom  and  God. 

At  length  in  a  deathless  hour 
She  kissed  him  ;  a  quickening  power 
Shot  forth  through  her  lips  of  fire 
In  touch  of  divine  desire. 

One  long  sweet  look  of  review ; 
Then  suddenly  from  her  she  threw 
Her  manifold  mantle  of  mystery  ; 
And,  facing  the  great  Before, 


THE   STAR  OF  SANGAMON.  2J 

On  unto  the  famed  door 
That  opens  out  into  history, 
In  radiant  rapture  she  led 
Her  hero  all  panoplied, 
And  thrust  him  from  her  to  be, 
On  mission  immortal  bent, 
Transfigurer  of  despair, 
The  champion  of  Liberty, 
The  hope  of  a  continent, 
God's  answer  to  prayer. 


THE   PEOPLE'S   KING. 

NOT  oft  such  marvel  the  years  reveal, 

Such  beauteous  thing, 

A  People's  King, 
The  chosen  liege  of  a  chosen  weal, 

And  Liberty's  offering. 

Not  oft  such  product  the  fair  world  hath, 

A  People's  Own, 

On  mightiest  throne, 
Whose  strong  foundations  are  Right  and  Faith, 

And  Virtue  the  corner-stone. 
28 


THE  PEOPLE'S  KING.  29 

Not  by  earth's  bounty  was  he  prepared  ; 

Not  princely  store, 

Nor  golden  lore, 
Was  nurture  on  which  his  nature  fared 

For  strength  in  the  trust  he  bore  ; 


But  inner  largess  of  revenue, 

Past  time  and  space, 

The  fruits  of  grace, 
That  mellowed  upon  the  tree  which  grew 

God's  food  for  a  famished  race. 


In  history's  mirror  he  truly  saw 
The  ages'  strife, 


30  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

With  passion  rife, 

'Neath  covenant  promise  a  changeless  law 
Writ  clear  in  its  serial  life. 


He  learned  from  the  centuries'  battle-fields 

What  heroes  are, 

How  maim  and  scar 
Are  gloried  trophies  to  him  who  yields 

Himself  to  the  shocks  of  war  ; 

That  patriot  sires  have  taught  their  sons, 

Since  days  of  eld, 

How  Truth  is  held, 
And  Justice  fashions  a  nation's  guns 

Never  to  be  repelled. 


THE  PEOPLE'S  KING.  31 

Thus  was  it  a  purpose  for  valiant  deeds, 

Like  whitening  flame, 

Through  all  his  frame 
Swept  burning  until  his  Country's  needs 

His  one  great  thought  became. 

Thus  was  it  he  took  in  his  sovereign  hand, 

With  face  to  Fate, 

The  orb  of  state, 
To  serve  his  Country  and  God,  and  stand 

To  them  all  consecrate. 


fort  Sumter. 


33 


FORT   SUMTER. 

O'ER  sea-girt  fortress  set  toward  Charleston's 

orient  sun 
Columbia's  banner  waved,  and  'neath  it,  in 

array, 
A  noble  band  stood  waiting  for  the  break  of 

day, 
And  Southland's  primal  gun. 

Soon  from  Palmetto  shores  and  isles  historic 
burst 

War's  first  unfilial  thunder,  and  a  signal  shell 
35 


36  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Rose     screaming     seaward     over    guardian 

citadel, 
Predestined  and  accurst. 


An  omened  silence ;  then  from  bastioned  shoals 

of  ire, 

Raged,  blazing  under  wide  and  reddened  fir- 
mament, 

One  hurricane  of  havoc  into  swift  descent 
Of  fierce  columbiad  fire. 

Guns  answered  guns,  till  thrice  from  morn  to 

eventide 

The  worn  defenders  strove  behind   embat- 
tered  bars, 


FORT  SUMTER.  37 

And   faithful    to  their  Country's  hallowed 

Stripes  and  Stars 
Rebellion's  host  defied. 

At  length,  within  shot-swept  and  ravaged  ram- 
parts, broke 

Mad  conflagration,  driven  'neath  furious  can- 
nonade, 
As  if  the  traitorous  Earth  had  molten  wrath 

displayed 
Hurled  through  volcanian  smoke. 

Before  resistless  storm  the  standard  fell,  but 

leapt 

Aloft  mid  clouds  enfuming,  and  in  proud 
disdain 


38  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Streamed  from  its  splintered  staff  above  the 

wreck  and  pain 
And  vows  of  soldiers  kept. 

Thrust  forth  by  flame  and  Fate,  all  honored 

in  retreat, 
They    unsurrendering    went,    their    banner 

holding  fast 
To  float  thereon  again,  redeemed,  and  be  at 

last 
Their  leader's  winding-sheet. 

The  die  was  cast ;  Secession's  deed  flashed  to 

renown ; 

The   golden  South  had   drunk  of    her  self- 
poisoned  cup ; 


FORT  SUMTER.  39 

And  swift  a  loyal  People's  slumberous  blood 

rose  up 
When  Sumter's  flag  went  down. 

And  one,  a  Nation's  Prophet,  with  sad  eyes 

afar 
Beholding,  steadfast  gazed  beyond  near  space 

and  time 
Upon  the  advancing  tide,  and  saw  it  sweep 

sublime 
The  purple  paths  of  war. 


COLUMBIA'S   WRATH. 

THE  guns  that  fired  on  Sumter's  walls 
Awoke  a  Nation  ;  far  and  near 
Were  cries  of  anguish,  bursts  of  fear 

And  burning  judgment  calls. 


Beloved  Columbia,  wounded  sore, 
A  moment  staggered  ;  then  her  form 
Rose  towering,  while  a  gathering  storm 

Her  darkening  features  wore. 
40 


COLUMBIA'S  WRATH.  41 

Her  flag  that  waved  o'er  Southern  sea 
Had  fallen  while  she  slept ;  but  now 
The  cloud  upon  her  bended  brow 

Was  certain  augury 


Of  hastening  vengeance,  and  the  fire, 
That  flashed  from  all  her  kindled  tips 
Of  being,  was  apocalypse 

Of  purpose  swift  and  dire  ; 


Of  purpose  dire  until  the  Right 

In  dust  and  blood  should  conquer  Wrong ; 

Till  mists  should  lift  and  morning's  song 
Sound  through  the  passing  night ; 


42  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Till  victor  hosts  should  rise  and  plant 
That  flag  on  Sumter's  height  again  ; 
And  wipe  away  for  aye  her  stain, 

And  sign  her  covenant, 


Blood-writ  across  a  million  graves, 
That,  in  her  undivided  land, 
There  nevermore  should  rest  a  band 

Upon  a  race  of  slaves. 


Ube  Call  to  arms. 


43 


THE  CALL  TO  ARMS. 

BESIDE  Columbia  stood  one 
Begot  of  Holy  Liberty  ; 
Exalted  by  her  grace  to  be 

Her  favored  regnant  son. 


That  sacred  trust  his  heart  and  brain 
In  swift  and  sweet  devotion  drew ; 
And  well  his  loyal  nature  knew 

The  measure  of  her  pain. 
45 


46  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

And  all  his  being  rose  with  hers  ; 
Till,  facing  her  intense  distress, 
Remembering  the  faithfulness 

Of  past  deliverers, 


He  took  from  out  his  sacred  girth 
The  golden  trumpet  which  he  bore  ; 
Blew  such  a  blast  as  ne'er  before 

Was  heard  in  all  the  earth  ; 


A  blast  that  sounded  war's  alarms, 

From  north  to  south,  from  east  to  west ; 
Columbia's  supreme  behest, 

The  Nation's  call  to  arms. 


people's  Response. 


47 


THE   PEOPLE'S   RESPONSE. 

IT  rang  o'er  the  startled  land 
One  sovereign  blast  of  command. 
It  rolled  from  sea  unto  sea, 
The  summons  of  Liberty. 
It  broke  'gainst  the  scintillant  hills, 
Resounding  in  multiple  thrills 
Of  wakening  thunder.    It  swept 
Through  valleys  and  over  streams 
The  militant  havoc  of  dreams 
Of  troubled  millions  that  slept. 
It  stirred  all  hearts  as  it  went, 

Arousing  a  continent. 
4  49 


50  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

The  People's  answer  came  ; 
A  splendor  burst  on  the  night ; 
The  crests  of  the  hills  were  flame ; 
The  valleys  were  lines  of  light ; 
The  winds  were  voices  of  trust ; 
A  soul  was  incarnate  in  dust ; 
The  frame  of  the  struggling  earth 
Drew  nigh  to  a  larger  birth. 

The  People  leapt  to  their  feet, 
Their  strength  like  a  giant's  brawn, 
Their  zeal  like  a  furnace  heat, 
Their  hope  like  the  widening" dawn. 

And  up  to  the  throne  of  Him 
Who  reigns  'twixt  the  cherubim, 


THE  PEOPLE'S  RESPONSE.  51 

Mid  supplicatory  throes 

A  vow  inviolate  rose ; 

That,  be  it  through  torturing  pain, 

Their  banner  should  rise  again  ; 

That  ne'er  should  the  Federal  Stars 

Give  place  to  the  Southern  Bars  ; 

That,  under  God's  judgment  sky, 

Rebellion  at  last  should  lie 

In  overthrow  complete 

Beneath  Columbia's  feet. 

And  thus  a  People  quivering  stood 
And  offered  their  blood. 

The  crags  replied  to  the  echoing  crags, 
And  flags  waved  answer  to  flags. 


52  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

O'er  wharf  and  harbor,  o'er  vale  and  hill, 

And  loyal  domicile, 

O'er  school  and  languishing  academe 

A  banner  floated  supreme. 

O'er  bustling  mart  and  thoroughfare 

One  standard  streamed  to  the  air. 

From  argent  turrets  and  glittering  spires 

The  pennons  of  sainted  sires 

Were  signs  of  a  storied  Faith  that  wore 

Her  lustrous  robes  as  of  yore. 

The  steam-shod  chargers  of  turbulent  trade, 

Thundering  through  meadow  and  glade, 

Were  freighted  for  Freedom,  and  southward  flew 

Ablaze  with  the  Red,  White  and  Blue. 

And  vows  were  written  again  and  again, 

Till  earth  was  a  manuscript, 


THE  PEOPLE'S  RESPONSE.  53 


Illuminated  by  patriot  pen 
In  triplicate  glory  dipt. 


The  plow  was  left  in  the  fallow  field 

For  sake  of  a  larger  yield. 

The  iron  lay  cold  in  the  smouldering  flame 

Because  of  a  higher  claim. 

The  rattling  shuttle,  the  whirring  loom 

Were  hushed  at  the  cannon's  boom. 

And  over  the  land  the  market's  hum 

Gave  place  to  the  fife  and  drum. 

The  workers,  trained  for  the  shop  and  mill, 

Aspired  to  a  warrior's  skill. 

The  poet  deserted  his  golden  song 

To  join  the  armed  throng. 


54  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

The  sculptor  forsook  his  half-carved  stone 

At  sound  of  the  bugle  blown. 

Each  town  and  hamlet  became  a  spring 

Of  chivalric  issuing, 

A  living  current  of  sacrifice 

Full-set  toward  a  great  emprise. 

The  plowshares  sprang  into  glistening  swords, 

And  pruning-hooks  into  spears  ; 

Love's  accents  broke  into  farewell  words, 

And  laughter  to  bitter  tears. 

Across  the  threshold  the  mother  gave 

Her  son  for  a  soldier's  grave  ; 

And  freely  yielded  the  weeping  wife 

The  heart  of  her  heart  for  strife. 

Despair  strode  in  through  the  gates  of  home, 

And  Hope  fled  forth  to  roam. 


THE  PEOPLE'S  RESPONSE.  55 

• 

All  hearts  were  one,  and  the  Nation's  soul 

Moved  on  toward  its  sacred  goal. 

Beneath  the  sky's  cerulean  hue 

The  hills  and  the  vales  were  blue. 

The  sun  flashed  down,  in  its  dazzling  wheel, 

On  billows  of  bristling  steel. 


THE  GATHERING  OF  THE  LEGIONS. 

MAJESTIC  swept  from  coast  to  coast 

Columbia's  azure-liveried  host. 

From  Pilgrim  havens,  from  Pine-Tree  shades, 

And  over  the  walls  of  the  Palisades  ; 

From  Eldorado's  aureate  sand, 

Past  geyser  vales  of  the  Wonderland  ; 

From  linked  lakes,  from  the  castled  mounds 

Of  Gathering  Waters,  from  forest  bounds ; 

O'er  purple  canyons  and  ferny  glens, 

Ravined  plateaus  and  miasmal  fens, 

Meridian  rivers  and  prairies  wide, 

And  granite  domes  of  the  Great  Divide  ; 

From  Empire  Portal,  from  Golden  Gate, 
56 


THE  GATHERING  OF  THE  LEGIONS.        57 

To  Country  and  Liberty  consecrate, 
With  "  Union  forever  "  their  rallying  cry, 
To  stand  for  the  Colors,  or  under  them  die, 
By  one  unfaltering  faith  controlled, 
The  patriot  legions  onward  rolled  ; 
On,  on,  at  the  clarion  call  of  him 
Who  stood  with  face  to  a  spectre  grim, 
And  saw,  o'er  the  crests  of  the  surging  tide, 
The  crimson  Furies  of  Fratricide  ; 
On,  on,  toward  the  hallowed  citadel, 
Where  Freedom's  chosen  guardians  dwell ; 
On,  on,  the  myriads  swept  along, 
With  rhythmic  tread  and  with  ringing  song, 
With  heralding  bugle  and  fife  and  drum  : 
"  We  come,  Father  Abraham,  we  come, 
Six  hundred  thousand  strong." 


OUR  VOLUNTEERS. 

O  SACRED  miracle  wrought  of  truth  ! 

Of  truth  and  time, 

And  love  sublime  ! 
And  through  the  bloom  of  perpetual  youth, 

The  wonder  of  every  clime  ! 

O  summer  of  sorrow  that  gloams  afar  ! 

Across  the  years 

Of  mists  and  tears  ! 
How  beauteous  now  the  memories  are 

That  halo  your  Volunteers  ! 
58 


OUR  VOLUNTEERS.  59 

O  Freemen  who  rose  when  their  Country  called ! 

Such  patriots  those, 

Where  else  disclose, 
Or  lands  or  seasons  by  Heaven  forestalled, 

Against  impetuous  foes? 

Immortal  Legions  that  gathered  then  ! 

When  skies  were  black, 

And  Freedom's  track 
Lay  close  by  chasms  which  none  could  ken, 

And  under  the  tempest's  wrack ! 

O  Heroes  that  never  shall  be  forgot ! 
Though  life  be  done, 
And  rest  be  won, 


60  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

And  earth  be  given  for  blesseder  spot 
That  needs  no  light  of  the  sun ! 

Columbia's  power  supreme  shall  last, 
Through  endless  years, 
Beyond  all  fears, 

The  future  risen  above  the  past, 
Upheld  by  her  Volunteers. 


Ube  price  of 


61 


THE  PRICE  OF  LIBERTY. 

THE  price  of  liberty  is  patriot  blood. 
Thus  is  it  written  with  the  dripping  sword 

Across  the  pages  of  the  ages  past. 
Where'er  uplifted  stands  the  crowned  Good, 
Beneath  her  bleeding  feet  lies  Evil's  horde, 
Defiant  and  contending  to  the  last. 

So  was  it  that  the  azure  sky  of  noon 
Should  darken,  and  calm  Nature  terrified 
Should  tremble   in   the   fierce   and  thun- 
derous jar  ; 

So  was  it  that  the  flowered  fields  of  June 
Should  redden,  and  aeolian  summer-tide 
Grow  strident  with  the  agony  of  war. 

63 


BULL  RUN. 

LONG  lines  of  steel  in  the  morning, 
Wide  winding  columns  of  blue  ; 
The  Sabbath's  hush, 
The  dawn's  sweet  flush, 
Brave  hearts  all  failure  scorning 
And  fresh  as  the  glistening  dew. 

High  noon  o'er  the  trampled  meadows 
And  Bull  Run's  crimsoned  stream ; 

Hot  shot  and  shell 

And  swaths  of  Hell ; 
Bold  forms  in  the  flaming  shadows 

Aface  to  a  fiery  dream. 
64 


BULL  RUN.  65 

Dust-clouds  in  the  evening  rising, 
Fresh  hope  to  a  turning  foe; 
Tumultuous  flight, 
Blood,  rapine  and  night ; 
The  Nation's  heart  agonizing, 
A  clamor  of  fear  and  woe. 


Ube  Nation's  jpropbet 


THE  NATION'S  PROPHET. 

THE  hour  was  come,  and  with  it  rose  the  man 
Ordained  of  God  and  fashioned  for  the  hour ; 

The  savior  of  a  race  ; 

For  whom  wrought  ever,  since  the  world  began, 
The  subtle  energies  of  thought  and  power 
In  lineal  lines  of  grace. 

Incarnate  Conscience  ;  Right's  embodiment ; 

Benignant  Nature's  generous  bequest 

In  mind  and  feature  writ ; 
Life's  lore  and  legends  into  wisdom  blent ; 

Past  verities  to  present  truth  compressed  ; 

The  People's  composite. 
69 


70  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

A  master-soul  was  his  that  gazing  saw 
The  refluent  tide  of  battle,  felt  the  fires 

That  swept  all  withering  ; 
A  master-soul,  set  to  a  higher  law, 

That   heard  above   the    Earth's   despairing 

quires 
Of  heavenly  promise  sing. 


THE  NIGHT  OF  SORROW. 

THE   skies   withdrew  their  guidings;   star  by 

star 
Fled  from  the  circuit  of  engulfing  cloud  ; 

The  moon  eclipsed  glowed 
Unbeauteous  beyond  her  lurid  bar  ; 
And  forth,  inexpiate  and  crimson-browed, 
Carnage  emblazoned  strode. 

The  midnight   deepened,  and  war's  widening 

way 

Shook  'neath  his  clangorous  tread  all  uncon- 
trolled. 


72  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

The  winds  were  bruiting  breath 
Of  Consternation  laden  with  red  spray ; 

And  happenings  were  spectres  that  foretold 
Impending  doom  and  death. 

And  Pain  was  myriad-throated  ;  and  Despair 
Waxed  flagrant  with  unloosed  and  vagrant 

tongue ; 

Terror's  envenomed  pack 

Tore  at  the  bosom  of  scarce-struggling  Prayer ; 
Distrust  o'er  pallid  Faith  her  mantle  flung, 
Along  war's  ghastly  track. 


THE  VIGIL. 

AND  one  beside  Columbia's  prostrate  form 
Watched,  in  lone  vigil,  from  his  regent  height 

The  Nation's  hopes  decline  ; 
And  set  intrepid  breast  against  the  storm, 
Facing  the  fury  of  inflamed  despite, 
Waiting  celestial  sign  ; 

While  through   the   fiery,  rifts  his  worn  eyes 

strained 

Past  wastes  of  graves,  where  hosts,  once  glis- 
tening, 

Now  silent  prisoners  lay  ; 
73 


74  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

And  saw  with  priceless  blood  the  green  earth 

stained, 

And  war's  low-flying  vultures,  wing  to  wing, 
Disaster  and  Dismay. 

Seven  times  refined  by  fire,  his  mediate  soul 
Heard  the  unburthening  and  ascending  woes 

Of  serried  sacrifice, 

The  anguished  sighings  of  his  People,  roll 
Up  to   the   throne   of    God ;   and    felt    the 

throes 
Of  supplication  rise  ; 

And  caught  the  wailings  from  expanses  higher 
Of  multitudes  that  'neath  the  altar  cried, 
"  How  long,  O  Lord,  how  long  ? 


THE  VIGIL.  75 

How  long  ere  Justice  shall  her  rod  acquire? 
How  long  ere  Vengeance  forth  in  might  shall 

ride 
Against  Earth's  hoary  wrong  ?  " 


And,  far  uplifted  on  the  slopes  of  grace, 

His  soul,   in    prayer   impassioned,  touched 

with  God 

Through  puissant  lengths  of  faith  ; 
When,  lo,  before    him    flashed    from    farther 

space, 
Cloud-clothed,  with  rainbowed  brow  and  feet 

fire-shod, 
Above  the  tempest's  path, 


76  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

His  troubled  Country's  Guardian  Hierarch, 
Imperious  by  Earth's  supreme  demand 

And  Heaven's  august  decree ; 
In  flaming  splendor  vanquishing  the  dark, 
Pointing  past  duty  with  directing  hand 
Down  ways  of  victory. 


THE  VOICE  OF  DESTINY. 

THE  hour  was  come,  and  in  that  hour  he  stood 
Responsive  to  the  sacred  voice  that  spake 

From  Heaven  and  earth  and  sea. 
He  heard  the  dusky  toiling  multitude 

Plaintively  pleading  that   his  hand   should 

break 
Their  bonds  and  set  them  free. 


He  heard  the  voice  of  God  from  shining  height, 
Who,  for  the  reason  of  the  Nation's  sin, 

Had  held  her  armies  back 
77 


78  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

In  failure  and  defeat,  till  she  should  right 
The    wrongs   herself    had   sanctioned,    and 

should  win 
Justice  unto  her  track  ; 


When,  girded  with  the  strength  of  righteous- 
ness, 
God  for  her,  with  descending  seraphim, 

Above  the  battle's  tide, 

She  then  would  march  to  triumph,  and  possess 
A  land  united  to  the  farthest  rim, 
Through  sorrow  purified. 


Ube  Strofce  of  Justice. 


79 


THE   STROKE   OF  JUSTICE. 

THE  hour  was  come, the  Nation's  crucial  hour; 
A  crisis  of  the  world,  a  turn  of  time  ; 

The  ages'  hope  and  dream. 
And  one  undaunted  soul,  sinewed  with  power, 
Freedom's  anointed,  rose  to  height  sublime, 
Imperial  and  supreme ; 


And,  lifting  high  o'er  groaning  multitude 
His  sovereign   sceptre,  smote  with  such  a 

stroke 
The  chains  of  centuries, 

81 


82  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

That  earth  was  shaken  to  its  farthest  rood  ; 
That  millioned  manacles  asunder  broke, 
And  myriad  properties 


Became,  in  one  immortal  moment, — men  ; 
Free  with  the  free  in  all  the  rounded  earth ; 

Redeemed  by  martyr  blood; 
To  stand  with  faces  to  the  light  again, 

Attaining  through  their  resurrection  birth, 
To  human  brotherhood. 


THE   DAWN. 

THE  shadows  slowly  lifted  from  the  sun  ; 
The  benediction  splendors  downward  rolled, 

Fore-flush  of  day  to  be ; 

The  Nation's  Prophet  stood,  his  mission  done, 
Upon  the  covenant  mountains,  aureoled 
With  immortality. 

The  shadows  slowly  lifted,  and  the  Land 

Grew  glad,  e'en  though  the  blood  of  heroes 

\ 
veined 

Her  fair  and  sacred  face  ; 
For  Right  at  last  had  risen  to  command, 
And  Justice  had  in  her  Republic  gained 
Her  high  and  holy  place. 

83 


Ube  Bpotbeoste. 


THE  APOTHEOSIS. 

To  one  superior  peak,  before  untrod, 
Alone  he    clomb,   the   summons  heard   by 

naught 

Save  his  interior  soul ; 
The  Nebo  of  his  life,  the  mount  of  God 
All  luminous ;  and  marvelling  he  caught 
Swift  vision  of  the  goal 

Of  his  unwavering  faith,  the  Promised  Land 
Toward  which  his  feet  had  led  his  People  on 
O'er  wastes  of  blood  and  fire  ; 

And  gazing  saw  the  breadths  of  grace  expand, 
Apocalyptic  in  the  halcyon  dawn 

Of  centuried  desire. 

87 


88  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

He  saw  across  the  lessening  hurricane 
His  Country's  armies  march  to  victory  ; 

And,  lifted  to  the  light, 
The  Stars  and  Stripes  in  glory  wave  again, 
Invincible,  the  standard  of  the  free, 
The  sacred  sign  of  right. 


He  saw  the  battle-clouds  disperse  for  aye  ; 
The  camp-fires  of  the  Nation  smouldering ; 

A  million  veterans  tread 
The  smiling  paths  along  the  homeward  way, 
Expectant  gates  of  welcome  open  swing, 
And  feasts  of  gladness  spread. 


THE  APOTHEOSIS.  89 

The  vision  widened,  and  the  distant  view 
Grew  clearer  till  the  fugitive  forecast 

Of  far  horizons  shone ; 
And  earth  became  a  thronged  avenue 
With  multitudes  processional  that  passed 
Before  his  prophet  throne. 


He  saw  the  golden  South  refashioned  rise, 
Transcending  all  her  dreams  imperial, 

To  greatening  power  and  fame ; 
A  deeper  azure  in  her  bending  skies, 

Increasing  wealth  of  nature  quickening  all 
Her  strong  and  beauteous  frame. 


90  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

He  saw  the  argent  North  anew  inspired, 
Beneath  her  holy  chrism,  to  truer  love 

For  her  rich  heritage, 
The  revenue  of  sacrifice  acquired 

In  service,  which,  from  hallowed  founts  above, 
Shall  flow  through  every  age. 


He  saw  the  wounds  of  war  in  Union  healed  ; 
No  North,  no  South ;  from  sea  to  mountain 

tip 

One  land,  one  flag  for  aye ; 
And  kindred  blood,  mixt  on  the  battle-field, 
Cementing,  in  perpetual  fellowship, 
The  Nation's  Blue  and  Gray. 


THE  APOTHEOSIS.  9! 

He  saw  the  marble  columns  'gainst  the  sky ; 
The  flowered  garlands  o'er  the  palls  of  green  ; 

The  gathered  worshippers 
Conning  the  story  that  'tis  sweet  to  die 
For  Country,  and  to  win  the  prize  serene 
A  grateful  world  confers. 


The  splendor  spread  to  its  meridian  prime, 
And   earth    lay   fruited    'neath    the    noon's 

caress ; 

He  saw  from  zone  to  zone 
The  feet  of  Love  upon  the  crests  of  Time, 
The  hand  of  Peace  dispensing  blessedness 
From  Freedom's  central  throne. 


92  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

He  saw  the  upward  march  of  centuries  ; 
He  heard  the  gloried  sweeps  of  gratitude 

Above  the  glad  earth  rise, 
Antiphonal  with  strains  of  heavenly  bliss, 
The  diapasons  of  beatitude, 
Hymnings  of  Paradise. 


Listening,  he  heard  the  sweet  adagios 
Of  quiring  angelsrand  the  morning  song 

Of  the  redeemed  and  free  ; 
And  was  not,  for  God  took  him  ;  and  he  rose 
Caught  to  the  bosom  of  that  martyr  throng 
Who  died  for  Liberty. 


THE  VOICE  OF  MARTYRDOM. 

IN  the  great  world  there  are  no  accidents ; 
Enthroned  above  the  ages'  ebb  and  flow, 

Unseen,  misunderstood, 
God  rules,  who  in  all  seasons  and  events, 
Through  fiery  evil  and  o'erwhelming  woe, 
Forever  works  the  good. 


And  God  hath  wrought  the  good  ;  forevermore 
The  million-mouthed  cries  of  martyrdom 
Are  one  immortal  voice, 

That  sounds  triumphant  o'er  the  mighty  roar 
Of  instant  days  and  centuries  to  come, 

And  bids  the  world  rejoice. 
93 


94  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Rejoice  that  Freedom's  gifts  the  earth  adorn, 
And  every  path  is  open  thoroughfare 

Won  on  the  fields  of  strife ; 
That   man   may   mount   to   highways   of    the 

morn, 
With  Faith  the  light,  and  Hope  the  fragrant 

air, 
And  Charity  the  life. 


Ube  plefcge  of  trtstorg. 


95 


THE  PLEDGE  OF  HISTORY. 

COLUMBIA,  great  Mother  ;  through  all  lands 
The  memory  of  her  storied  prowess  runs 

And  glorified  expands. 

Columbia  enfreedomed  ;  thus  she  stands, 
Behind  the  bulwark  of  her  noble  sons, 

Robed  in  her  starry  bands. 

Behold  her  risen  from  embattled  plains, 
More  beautiful  by  all  her  holy  scars 

And  sacred  martial  stains  ! 

What  grace  and  wisdom  her  proud  form  attains  ! 
With  sheathed   sword   beneath  her  Stripes 
and  Stars 

How  tranquilly  she  reigns  ! 
97 


98  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Her  realm  is  of  all  realms  the  goodliest, 
The  fairest  of  the  new  Hesperides ; 

A  zone  of  fulness  blest 

With  golden  fruits  unfound  in  ancient  quest, 
And  gladdening  wine  all  sweet  unto  the  lees ; 

The  free  and  welcoming  West. 


She  knows  the  bitter  of  Oppression's  gall ; 

She  knows  the  taste  of  Freedom's  nectared 

cheer ; 

And  when  the  sorrowing  call, 
E'en  though  it  be  beyond  her  ocean  wall, 

Remembering  her  past,  shall  she  not  hear 
And  Liberty  forestall? 


THE  PLEDGE  OF  HISTORY.  99 

For  high  and  holy  ends  God  made  her  strong, 
And  set  her  on  the  sacred  heights  of  trust, 

The  constant  foe  of  wrong. 

Her  forces  unto  Righteousness  belong, 
That  prostrate  forms  may  rise  from  out  the 
dust, 

And  sighing  change  to  song. 


Never  shall  she  forget,  as  years  speed  on, 
That  unto  God  her  virgin  troth  was  given  ; 

That  'neath  His  benison 

The  mighty  triumphs  of  her  past  were  won  ; 
And  so  for  her  the  stars  shall  strive  from 
Heaven, 

If  righteous  deeds  be  done. 


100  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Columbia  enthroned  ;  through  all  time 

Swift  answering  to  Freedom  ;  they  who  rose 

For  sake  of  her  sublime, 

Are  pledge  that  ever,  as  the  race  shall  climb 
Yet  higher,  she  shall  point  to  paths  that 
close 

Upon  the  ages'  prime. 


OUR  SOLDIERS. 

O  SOLDIERS,  who  stood  for  the  Flag  of  our 

Nation ! 

Columbia's  children  can  never  forget. 
How  you,  through  the  grace  of  your  sacred 

oblation, 
Her  honor  and  glory  invincible  set. 

Behold  the  proud  Banner  of  Liberty  streaming ! 
The  Flag  of  our  Union,  the  Red,  White  and 

Blue! 
Its  Stripes  all  undimmed  and  its  Stars  ever 

beaming, 

Baptized  in  the  blood  of  the  brave  and  the 
true. 

101 


102  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

You  marched  and  were  weary,  you  fought  and 
were  wounded, 

You  fell  in  the  battle,  you  sank  in  the  storm  ; 
But  out  of  your  sacrifice  Heaven  has  rounded 

The  hope  of  the  ages  to  beauteous  form. 

Across  the  scarred  fields  of  your  struggles  im- 
mortal, 

In  rev'rent  reviewing  the  hosts  of  the  free 
Shall  trace  the  red  paths  which  you  trod  to 

Fame's  portal, 

And  sacredly  pledge  through  the  years  that 
will  be, 

To  follow  unswerving  your  feet  of  devotion, 
Inspired  by  your  holy  and  generous  deeds  ; 


OUR  SOLDIERS.  103 

And  filled  with  a  pure  and  a  patriot  emotion, 
Be  true  in  their  Country's  imperative  needs. 

Upon  the  firm  granite  the  marvellous  story 
Of  valor,  with  chisel  of  love,  is  engraved  ; 

The  ages  shall  read,  and  exalt  to  new  glory 
The   crimson-stained   banner  you   gallantly 
saved. 

Around  the  green  mounds  where  your  forms 

lie  a-sleeping, 

The  People  shall  gather  again  and  again  ; 
And,  blessing  your  memories,  place  in   your 

keeping 

The  palms  of  thanksgiving,  the  laurels  of 
pain. 


104  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

All  quickened  by  Duty's  ensanguined  libation, 
A  Nation's  new  flower  has  bloomed  from  the 

clay; 

The  sweet  asphodel  of  a  fresh  consecration, 
Sprung  out  of  the  graves  of  the  Blue  and  the 
Gray. 

Pass  on,  O  our  Soldiers,  to  heavenly  capture ! 

We  follow  swift  after  beneath  your  renown ; 
Pass  on  to  the  bivouac  of  rest  and  of  rapture ! 

Behind  you  our  freedom,  before  you  your 
crown. 


Xano  of  promise. 


105 


THE   LAND   OF  PROMISE. 

THE  mists  on  the  mountain  peaks 
Melt  fleet  in  the  glad  new  morn  ; 
The  hope  of  the  world  is  born  ; 

The  Sphinx  of  the  ages  speaks. 

The  wrinkled  forehead  of  Time 
Responds  to  his  laughing  soul ; 
The  runner  has  reached  the  goal ; 

And  all  things  fall  into  rhyme. 
107 


108  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

The  winds  are  poets,  and  sing 
September  back  into  June ; 
The  radiant  asters  swoon, 

All  purpling  toward  the  Spring. 


The  bitter  is  changed  to  sweet ; 

The  bruises  of  battle  heal ; 

And  Peace  stands  again  at  the  wheel, 
And  turns  it  with  glowing  feet. 


O  God-given  Occident! 
O  Land  of  Promise  !  whose  sphere 
Is  Nature's  enlarged  career 

And  Spirit's  divine  ascent ; 


THE  LAND  OF  PROMISE.  1OQ 

Reserved  for  the  fulness  of  days 
Through  haze  of  the  desert  past ! 
A  Canaan  revealed  at  last 

Of  fruited  and  flowered  ways ! 


From  sea  to  the  granite  hills, 
From  crests  of  snow  to  the  sea, 
Rush,  flashing  with  energy, 

Innumerous  crystal  rills. 


The  mountains  impatient  stand 
For  mystic  call  of  desire ; 
The  vales  inviting  conspire 

For  magic  touch  of  command ; 


IIO  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Expectant  of  labor's  keys, 
Strong-wrought  at  the  forge  of  hope, 
Their  subterrene  doors  to  ope, 

Disclosing  earth's  treasuries ; 


Great  inner  chambers  of  gold, 
And  vaults  of  potential  heat, 
Primeval  power's  retreat, 

The  store  of  the  ages  old  ; 


The  store  of  the  ages  new, 

And  force  for  the  higher  trend, 
Where  Nature  and  Spirit  blend 

In  rise  toward  the  blazoned  blue. 


THE  LAND  OF  PROMISE.  Ill 

Fair  Land  from  the  sea  to  the  sea 
Awaiting  the  great  To-be ! 


Fulfilment  of  Liberty's  dream, 
The  voice  of  the  People  supreme ! 


The  throne  of  Justice  secure, 
The  rights  of  man  to  endure ! 


The  home  of  the  world's  oppressed, 
The  earth's  great  hearthstone  of  rest ! 


112  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

All  barriers  broken  down, 
And  every  man  with  a  crown  ! 


One  Union  never  to  fall ! 
One  Flag  afloat  over  all ! 


THE  END. 


24667 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


A     000  775"823"""8 


